Presenting painting 8 – Door Handle. This week was another hard one to choose. Simply put, there are so many to choose from. Should I look for something expensive and ornate or the opposite end of the spectrum of worn and rusty. I veered towards the latter. This door handle is on one of the cottages on Well Street. It looks to have been there a very long time. Maybe even from when they were built and, as parts of Well street date back to Georgian times, that could be a very long time. There are a few of a similar style in the street. The worn appearance was what attracted me to this particular one. That and… The latch appears to have been created using hexagonal bolts! Using bolts as a latch, reminds me of the old Boris Karlof Frankenstein look. Pretty cool looking. I did wonder whther it’s a bodged repair at first but there’s another one further down. I really wanted to take a closer look, but you tend to cause concern if you spend too long gazing at door furniture. So I took a quick photo and moved along. Here we have the completed painting. My […]

When you commence a Painting challenge, you know things may get tough. So, I thought it would be helpful to write a list of architectural features so that I would have something to inspire me. It kinda fell flat this week.. Why? Because the term is Brace and it’s so flexible. I mean a brace could be something holding up a chimney – like in last week’s Twisted Chimney or it could be supporting a roof structure. But for this week’s painting challenge, I’d decided on the funny plates you see on old buildings. The ones that brace the walls and stop them collapsing. They are braces, right? Well yes, they do form a bracing function but, after a little research, I found they are actually called Anchor plates. But even then, there are other names. This particular type is called a Pattress plate. I’m so glad I only create architecture paintings and don’t need to know the specific terms. I love the star shape construction on this particular one. The original picture shows it’s been painted white, which proved an interesting challenge for my particular style. I was concerned that it might end up being overly pale on the […]

Twisted Chimney? Sounds like a band name to me. Number 6 of the 49 50 Challenge or The Twisted Chimney as I’m calling it, follows on from my crooked comment last week. This time it’s a crooked chimney, ok maybe not crooked, but certainly twisted. The point being it’s not straight. There was a fashion in the UK to make chimneys more and more elaborate. This one is on the manor house in Church Street, Buckingham. It’s been artfully crafted into a wonderful helix shape. Although the years are showing wear, it’s a thing of beauty. The one’s quite a popular local landmark and so warranted inclusion in the 49 50 challenge. Here it is as a work in progress. And in all it’s twisted glory! I looked for a link to share a bit more information about the twisted chimney but could only find estate agent posts or they’re very dry. This was the best info about the building it’s on that I could find. (See the rest of the 49 50 Challenge #4950Paintings) Next week’s painting is going to be interesting. Especially as, at time of writing.. I’ve absolutely no idea what I’m going to do next!

All hands to the Pump, 5 down, 45 to go! Painting number 5 is Gawcott Pump, a charming little feature in Gawcott Out in the villages for this week’s architecture painting. Sadly, there’s no handle on the Gawcott pump, but it’s still an interesting structure. Don’t know what it is about plumbing that fascinates me, maybe it’s as simple as the link to water and how important it is. There are few of these around now but water pumps were a common site in the days before mains water. After a bit of research, I found this site http://www.villagepumps.org.uk/ Check it out if you want to geek out on British village water pumps. Strangely, Gawcott Pump is not listed, yet… This is the work in progress, once I had some paint on. And finally the finished piece! I must admit I’m enjoying the speed of creation of these little pieces. Limiting myself with colour and layers is also quite liberating. I think I’ll be doing some prints of the entire series as one print with one large square image, like the “Gawcott Pump” or “Marking Time” and the rest adjacent in a 7×7 grid format. I’m a ways of […]

The 4950 Painting Challenge continues This week my focus for the 4950 Painting Challenge is Buckingham’s Chantry Chapel. Although with a working title of #4 Gate, it’s really been the Chapel Gates. The Chantry Chapel is the original home of The Royal Latin School and is now preserved by the National Trust. The building itself is 15th Century, although this gate is probably much newer than that. Here it is as a work in progress. And the finished piece! I’m thinking of calling it Chantry Gateway… but that might change, you know how these things go. About the 4950 Challenge #4950Paintings In January 2018 I set myself a challenge to create 50 paintings in a year. All the paintings are/will be 49 sq inches and are of architecture details. The buildings used are near my base of Buckingham in the UK. They will be a mix of commonplace features, like drains, along with some unique elements found nowhere else, like the Twisted Chimney on The Manor House in Church Street. The full list of architectural features I intend to paint are here. Some, such as the chimney, I’ve already selected what I’m going to do. Others are to […]

Wondering if my art has gone down the drain? You’d be forgiven for thinking it has, but drains are something we take for granted. Painting Architecture, drains are included as details but not usually as the main feature. They are an essential part of daily life, yet most of us never give them a second thought until they stop working. They are not considered pretty, until they’re out of action for a while. Once fixed, they are a beautiful sight. But are they worthy of being made into art? I think so, and when painting architecture details, I couldn’t omit drains from the series. I mean, they are everywhere! And I will be including other plumbing features. So why not present the humble drain? Finding a suitable drain was a challenge. Plenty of them to choose from, so which one? Finally, I spotted this one by the Buckingham Inn. Nothing spectacular about the drain itself, but the angle appealed, along with the plants trying to grow in any crevice they could find. I love a war between man and nature and these little plants seem to be winning the battle. Here’s the painting as a work in progress. The result, […]